When you stop running away and toward instead.

"I have already told Takeda-San that you have been in pain.He said that he would have you covered so you can stay home tonight and get extra hours the next two daays.Feel better little trouble."
The text is honestly a relief,my feet are just barely on the edge of walking without whining.

Who knew about my allergy to baby powder?
It was the only thing that didn't match with the red fruity looking goo that was put in my slippers.
All the kids I used to be friends with before my incident have all moved on from association with me but most didn't know about my allergy except...
Arata and Sodako.

Half of me wants to plot,to make them feel my hurt like for my poor feet do but instead I need to remember that revenge did not help me the last time and this is nothing in comparison to what happened to me before.

2 YEARS AGO,AFTER THE INCIDENT.

'Where are you?'
I ask myself as I stare at the parking garage entrance.
This place is huge,I hate places so tall like this but I can not seem to find a place better to stop her and him.
Kai and Mibu Okidara.
Brother and sister duo of evil at my school,somehow they found pictures of my parents out on dates with there new 'significant others'and let me find out that on the occasions they had promised me to go shopping or to join me for a poetry meeting or to learn guitar.
Days I told them they were going to hang out with me and I paraded that around happily.
Those days I had been lied to,they made the whole school so easily turn on me.Telling them all that I must have been some kind of freak that my own parents want next to nothing to do with me,That I am useless and ugly so that is why they have decided to try there hand again at kids to trade in for better.

Those two helped to make the incident so much worse by posting it on the internet and now I can't escape it.
I want them to pay.

My eyes find them across the parking garage now and I send the video to them and watch.
Let's see how they like it.

PRESENT

The memory of the rest of that day keeps replaying in my mind as I eat, Cookie watches me with thieving intentions and I happen to 'drop' a piece of my veggie wrap for him to 'steal'.
Memories are knives that never seem to dull from overuse but they happen to only sharpen as time shows what the present now past did not.
The truth.

"You okay?"
My phone beeps and I see a message from Arata along with a pic of him at his first night working at a ramen restaurant.
I do not even answer him,he will be more than distracted working at the one particular restaurant which is almost never not full of hungry office workers and young women who will fawn over him.
What hurts is that although he is my best friend,Sodako was once my other best friend.I can't be convinced that he didn't do this and I can't really explain why but I feel like he had something to do with what happened today and he should no better than to do something like that to anyone.
Especially his best friend.

THE NEXT DAY.SCHOOL.

I put on the new slippers I bought and hold onto Nurse Sadakas slippers in hand.Walking slowly I get up the stairs so happy that the janitor let me in so I could do this in relative safety from my enemies here.Enjoying the quiet I walk softer still and reach the main classroom where through the door window I see Kenshin,head bowed over his work writing furiously about something that I admit I am curious about.
I only write like that when I have a massive fight scene for my samurai in my latest volume of my story.
"Why would you be here so early?"
I even see Sensei Tujii watching his furious method of working and I lean close to the door to listen in.

"You have perfect grades boy,you do not need to be so hard on yourself.The goal will be met."
"If even one mistake occurs Sensei.Even ONE,I will not be able to accomplish this.My father will not accept a blunder.You remember how he acted after I got tongue tied at the ceremony for the opening of Grandfathers latest building for the conglomerate."

'conglomerate?'i ask myself,oh wait he mother I heard was the heir of the fifth largest conglomerate in Japan,one that keeps the others in check I heard rumors of too.

"You are still a young man and not a mature business hardened cow like your father.Do not let yourself break over pressure that shouldn't be put on you.You are my nephew that I only lately have had the true pleasure of getting to know.Let yourself breathe or you will suffocate."
I see Kenshin look up,his eyes look so heavy suddenly and unlike the playful brown orbs of mischief I have the fortune/misfortune of seeing.
He looks hard at his paper then out to the morning sunlight and rakes his hand through his hair making the formerly well kept hair a slightly wavy mess that keeps my eyes at attention his way and I am so very thankful that this door is closed-

"What were you doing so close to the door Mori-San?!"
Sensei asks me,after I have fallen forward due to the students I hadn't heard pushed me in from behind and got into place.
"I only stopped in place to check my phone,I wanted to make sure Nurse Sadaka got my message.Very sorry Sensei."
Kenshin and those eyes of his don't lose sight of me for a moment and I try to cover my embarrassment over my entrance because smirks ao softly,so small almost no one would have noticed it but to my chagrin I do and it makes me redden all the more.
So much so that I can not catch a word of the lesson until Sensei looks me square in the eye and asks me after class ends,after the others including Kenshin have left.

"You heard us didn't you?"
I try to deny it but I am not built for lying,even more so not for games.
Not anymore.
"Yes,forgive me Sensei i-i just..."
"Just got a little curious.Huh?"Sensei laughs,it is warm and lyrical like my uncles laugh is and my dads.
"Is everything okay?I have another class to attend to."
Sensei nods but speaks once more.
"Mori-San?Be careful what you listen to and repeat,it is up to him to detail or not what you had heard us discuss.You have a lot of pull,more than you think with that pen of yours.He showed me your heart with that pen you use,It could help a lot of people.Talk to him,honestly he has no one else to talk to believe it or not and I have known you since you were a little girl.I never judged you for what happened after your incident or what happened to those kids.This is your chance just like Kenshins to do some good."

My mind kept replaying that through each class the rest of the day,through lunch where I found another note that had me coughing on my peach soda.

"To My Lovely Wordsmith.
I await my kiss most devotedly,your interest will only keep increasing the longer you procrastinate.
So to my pleasure you most definitely should procrastinate and I hope most ardently that you will enjoy the pay off of the interest like I most assuredly will.
Jest aside my Wordlybeloved,I need you.
I think you need me to.So please do not avoid me forever,even a word or two will be enough.
Awaiting by the bus and I will not leave until you are gone from my sight.
That will be answer enough.
Sincerely,
The ,hopefully,Love of your life"

For whatever reason my brain and my heart both are screaming.
"YES,Go there and talk."
My gut argues in the negative.
"No,you know you will only get more attached and attachment is like cursing someone in your life as you have seen proof of!"
But my prayer to GOD has given me proof of what to do.
Because my feet walk to that bus.

And I get on it.
After that I see from my compact mirror the look on Kenshins face,it is even beginning to rain and I can't stop myself this time.

"Stop the bus,please."
I do not know why he never listens,I tried three times and I am almost out of sight of the bus stop and I decide to play an unpleasant card.

"Please!I have a...bowel emergency."
I  even hold my stomach and am thankful I ate very little at lunch so my stomach makes noises.

He stops,lets me out as fast as he can and I pull out my umbrella which breaks and I try to run as fast I as I can back to the stop but my feet are still sore and my umbrella breaks more.My eyes also do not miss seeing Arata watching me running towards the bus stop and he runs parallel to me,his eyes stay though on me until I reach Kenshin who didn't miss a beat catching up to me and putting his umbrella over he and I both.

"I hope this is worth it."
Is all I say to him after I catch my breath and wait for whatever he has to say to me that is so important.